by Patrick Ness
Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2009.
**Spoiler warning for The Knife of Never Letting Go.**
Haven was supposed to be their hope, but when Todd and Viola reached it at the end of The Knife of Never Letting Go, Mayor Prentiss of Prentisstown was the only one who showed up to greet them. Taking up the story where it left off, Todd and Viola describe what happens to them after reaching Haven, which agreed to a peaceful take over rather than fight. Now separated for the Mayor's (or President, as he now wishes to be called) manipulative purposes, Todd and Viola have to decide whose side they're on in a coming war in which neither side seems to have a pure motive.
Is there any pure motive in war? What would you do to be "free," or would you compromise to minimize loss of life? What choices would you make, and what kind of person would they make you? These are the questions at the center of The Ask and the Answer, and they're tough ones to come to grips with. Todd and Viola, Mistress Coyle, the former Mayor of Haven, and a healer named Corinne are just some of the characters making these decisions and whether you agree with them or not, you can see the kind of people they are as a result of past and present decisions in a book just as intense as the first. I'm waiting on tenterhooks until the third book comes in from interlibrary loan.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Knife of Never Letting Go
by Patrick Ness
Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2009 (orig. pub. 2008).
Todd is nearly a man - he'll be thirteen thirteen-month years. He is the last boy of the community in Prentisstown, a town of all men who have Noise, a condition which means that all your thoughts are heard by the community, a germ that Todd was told caused all the women to die. But when Todd learns that what he has been told all his life may not be true, he has to re-evaluate everything he has taken for granted for the past thirteen years. How many secrets do the men of Prentisstown keep?
Todd is our first-person narrator - we're in his head, as if we're hearing his Noise clear as day, with all his dialect (words like "yer" and "attenshun") and confusion about what's really going on with Prentisstown. At first, I found it distracting, but I soon became caught up in Todd's plight and flight, and I had difficulty putting the book down. The plot is fast-paced, the details about this science fictional world are rich, the characters are so believable I hurt for them at times. If you're cliff-hanger averse, I recommend having book 2 ready as soon as you finish!
This was meant to be a "book off the shelf" - reading a book of my own, rather than a library book (my goal is to read 20 this year). Unfortunately (?), it looks like as long as I like the remaining books in the series, I will be adding two more to the shelves instead.
Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2009 (orig. pub. 2008).
Todd is nearly a man - he'll be thirteen thirteen-month years. He is the last boy of the community in Prentisstown, a town of all men who have Noise, a condition which means that all your thoughts are heard by the community, a germ that Todd was told caused all the women to die. But when Todd learns that what he has been told all his life may not be true, he has to re-evaluate everything he has taken for granted for the past thirteen years. How many secrets do the men of Prentisstown keep?
Todd is our first-person narrator - we're in his head, as if we're hearing his Noise clear as day, with all his dialect (words like "yer" and "attenshun") and confusion about what's really going on with Prentisstown. At first, I found it distracting, but I soon became caught up in Todd's plight and flight, and I had difficulty putting the book down. The plot is fast-paced, the details about this science fictional world are rich, the characters are so believable I hurt for them at times. If you're cliff-hanger averse, I recommend having book 2 ready as soon as you finish!
This was meant to be a "book off the shelf" - reading a book of my own, rather than a library book (my goal is to read 20 this year). Unfortunately (?), it looks like as long as I like the remaining books in the series, I will be adding two more to the shelves instead.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sapphique
by Catherine Fisher
New York : Dial Books, 2011.
The following necessarily contains ***spoilers*** for Incarceron.
After escaping Incarceron, Finn and Claudia find themselves in a battle of wits with Queen Sia, who does not want Finn - possibly the missing Prince Giles - to inherit the throne. Meanwhile, Attia, left behind in the prison, lives by her wits and tries to hold on to the belief that Finn did not abandon them. But the prison has plans of its own - can anyone stand against Incarceron itself?
Given the revelations at the end of Incarceron, I'd hoped for a little more backstory about Claudia and Finn. Instead, we fast forward a mere few months to Finn already trying to fit into the court and Claudia struggling to keep her position in court as the Warden's daughter. The plot moves along quickly as Attia and those in Incarceron works towards escape while Finn, Claudia, and Master Jared work on the Portal, trying discover Incarceron's secrets. While I didn't like it quite as much as the first, it was a good read with a fitting if slightly confusing ending.
New York : Dial Books, 2011.
The following necessarily contains ***spoilers*** for Incarceron.
After escaping Incarceron, Finn and Claudia find themselves in a battle of wits with Queen Sia, who does not want Finn - possibly the missing Prince Giles - to inherit the throne. Meanwhile, Attia, left behind in the prison, lives by her wits and tries to hold on to the belief that Finn did not abandon them. But the prison has plans of its own - can anyone stand against Incarceron itself?
Given the revelations at the end of Incarceron, I'd hoped for a little more backstory about Claudia and Finn. Instead, we fast forward a mere few months to Finn already trying to fit into the court and Claudia struggling to keep her position in court as the Warden's daughter. The plot moves along quickly as Attia and those in Incarceron works towards escape while Finn, Claudia, and Master Jared work on the Portal, trying discover Incarceron's secrets. While I didn't like it quite as much as the first, it was a good read with a fitting if slightly confusing ending.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
narrated by Sisi Aisha Johnson
Prince Frederick, Md. : Recorded Books, p2010.
One summer in the late sixties, Delphine and her sisters, Vonetta and Fern, fly to Oakland to visit their mother, Cecile, who left them when Fern was just a baby. The girls have grown up in Brooklyn with their grandmother and father raising them, and eleven-year-old Delphine had to grow up fast. Cecile doesn't seem to want them now, either, and sends them to a Black Panthers breakfast and summer school every day to get them out of the house so she can work on her poetry.
If you were following the Mock Newbery Awards before the official announcement of the ALA youth media awards, you've probably heard this title bandied about. A lot of people predicted it would win, so I was not surprised to see it on the Newbery Honor list this year. When I needed an audiobook for my commute and saw it available at work, I snatched it up. I wasn't really sure what to expect. At first I was a little disappointed by the lack of action in the story. The tight focus on Delphine, our first person narrator, and her family made this extremely character-centric. Though 1968-69 was a very intense time, the plot of this story is much more subdued and introspective. The number of historical details expertly laced into the story struck me only after I'd finished the book and started looking in to some of the events and people mentioned. We learn naturally, as Delphine mentions things like her uncle being away, or sorting newspapers. The family interactions, especially between Delphine and her sisters, ring true and were made all the richer by Sisi Aisha Johnson. While I'm not sure it's the type of story that many children would choose on their own (and I'm pretty sure I may not have picked it up without prompting), it would make an excellent read-aloud and discussion starter.
narrated by Sisi Aisha Johnson
Prince Frederick, Md. : Recorded Books, p2010.
One summer in the late sixties, Delphine and her sisters, Vonetta and Fern, fly to Oakland to visit their mother, Cecile, who left them when Fern was just a baby. The girls have grown up in Brooklyn with their grandmother and father raising them, and eleven-year-old Delphine had to grow up fast. Cecile doesn't seem to want them now, either, and sends them to a Black Panthers breakfast and summer school every day to get them out of the house so she can work on her poetry.
If you were following the Mock Newbery Awards before the official announcement of the ALA youth media awards, you've probably heard this title bandied about. A lot of people predicted it would win, so I was not surprised to see it on the Newbery Honor list this year. When I needed an audiobook for my commute and saw it available at work, I snatched it up. I wasn't really sure what to expect. At first I was a little disappointed by the lack of action in the story. The tight focus on Delphine, our first person narrator, and her family made this extremely character-centric. Though 1968-69 was a very intense time, the plot of this story is much more subdued and introspective. The number of historical details expertly laced into the story struck me only after I'd finished the book and started looking in to some of the events and people mentioned. We learn naturally, as Delphine mentions things like her uncle being away, or sorting newspapers. The family interactions, especially between Delphine and her sisters, ring true and were made all the richer by Sisi Aisha Johnson. While I'm not sure it's the type of story that many children would choose on their own (and I'm pretty sure I may not have picked it up without prompting), it would make an excellent read-aloud and discussion starter.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
2010 in Retrospect
In 2010, I read 135 books, including audiobooks and chapter books for children, teens, and adults. This is less than last year (156), but I was also working significantly more hours for the second half of the year, so all in all I'm pleased with that number.
I also kept track of picture book reading, which totaled 61.
Here are some of my memorable reads for the year, with links to my reviews (month finished in parentheses):
Fiction
Because I Want To Awards:
Most memorable but not best loved - Montana 1948 by Larry Watson (Aug)
Left me panting for the next one - Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (May)
Most surpassed my expectations - Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (Oct)
Most fun to recommend - Soulless by Gail Carriger (Mar)
Musings
I half expected most of my memorable reads to be early in the year, and be sort of the early great reads that I used as a measuring stick for the rest, but the numbers do not bear that out at all. April and October are tied for most-memorable-reads-in-a-month, with three a piece. Interestingly, January, July, and December reads did not make the cut. I'm not surprised by January: I only finished four books that month. The others are a bit of a mystery to me.
Here's to even more great reading in 2011! I'll be trying to keep clearer stats this year to determine how many children's, teen, and adults books I'm reading as well as the total, and posting monthly sum-ups as well.
I also kept track of picture book reading, which totaled 61.
Here are some of my memorable reads for the year, with links to my reviews (month finished in parentheses):
Fiction
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Feb)
- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (Mar)
- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonsen (Apr)
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Aug)
- Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (Sep - this entire series was a standout for me, but this was the of the best)
- Savvy by Ingrid Law (Oct)
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Oct)
- Persuasion by Jane Austen (Nov)
- The Lexicographer's Dilemma by Jack Lynch (Apr)
- At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman (Jun)
- The Essays of E.B. White by E.B. White (Aug)
- The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel (Sep)
- Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey (Apr)
Because I Want To Awards:
Most memorable but not best loved - Montana 1948 by Larry Watson (Aug)
Left me panting for the next one - Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (May)
Most surpassed my expectations - Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (Oct)
Most fun to recommend - Soulless by Gail Carriger (Mar)
Musings
I half expected most of my memorable reads to be early in the year, and be sort of the early great reads that I used as a measuring stick for the rest, but the numbers do not bear that out at all. April and October are tied for most-memorable-reads-in-a-month, with three a piece. Interestingly, January, July, and December reads did not make the cut. I'm not surprised by January: I only finished four books that month. The others are a bit of a mystery to me.
Here's to even more great reading in 2011! I'll be trying to keep clearer stats this year to determine how many children's, teen, and adults books I'm reading as well as the total, and posting monthly sum-ups as well.
Friday, January 21, 2011
A Whole New Mind
by Daniel H. Pink
New York : Riverhead Books, 2006.
In A Whole New Mind, Pink argues that in an age of computers and outsourcing, as well as relative abundance at lost cost, what we think of as "right brain" behavior will be what gets us ahead in the business world. Specifically, Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning, will be ways in which you can gain ground in a world that no longer has to be purely logical and utilitarian, since we have more time and more money to concentrate on aesthetics. He uses left brain/right brain as a metaphor, while emphasizing that a holistic approach is important.
I first heard of this book when I was reading a professional journal talking about what librarianship was going to be like future. The author suggested reading this book to get an idea of the qualities that we would need to have to be relevant in an increasingly electronic age. I read thinking about ways in which this is true: we make connections between books, movies, mood, a particular reader (Symphony), and we definitely need Empathy to figure out what kind of information someone is looking for, or finding the right book for someone whose taste is completely different from my own. I definitely have some food for thought about my profession.
At the same time, I discovered a lot about myself while I was reading. I found that I am very logical, analytic, and detail-oriented in my approach. Unlike many people (apparently), I have an easier time remembering random facts than stories. I found that I have a tendency towards a "male" brain - that is, tending towards logic, and not as good at reading facial expressions (I kind of knew that already, but some of the exercises in the book just confirmed that for me). Also, I like the Three Stooges just fine, which apparently is also more of a male tendency. On the other hand, I connected a lot more with his chapters on Play and Meaning, and these were the two chapters that I was most intrigued by his list of activities designed to help you stretch that sense in your own mind. Unfortunately, the stories and arguments Pink uses become repetitive after awhile, especially if you're reading several chapters in one sitting. Still, his ideas provide excellent food for thought, and I've added a few more books to read as a result.
New York : Riverhead Books, 2006.
In A Whole New Mind, Pink argues that in an age of computers and outsourcing, as well as relative abundance at lost cost, what we think of as "right brain" behavior will be what gets us ahead in the business world. Specifically, Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning, will be ways in which you can gain ground in a world that no longer has to be purely logical and utilitarian, since we have more time and more money to concentrate on aesthetics. He uses left brain/right brain as a metaphor, while emphasizing that a holistic approach is important.
I first heard of this book when I was reading a professional journal talking about what librarianship was going to be like future. The author suggested reading this book to get an idea of the qualities that we would need to have to be relevant in an increasingly electronic age. I read thinking about ways in which this is true: we make connections between books, movies, mood, a particular reader (Symphony), and we definitely need Empathy to figure out what kind of information someone is looking for, or finding the right book for someone whose taste is completely different from my own. I definitely have some food for thought about my profession.
At the same time, I discovered a lot about myself while I was reading. I found that I am very logical, analytic, and detail-oriented in my approach. Unlike many people (apparently), I have an easier time remembering random facts than stories. I found that I have a tendency towards a "male" brain - that is, tending towards logic, and not as good at reading facial expressions (I kind of knew that already, but some of the exercises in the book just confirmed that for me). Also, I like the Three Stooges just fine, which apparently is also more of a male tendency. On the other hand, I connected a lot more with his chapters on Play and Meaning, and these were the two chapters that I was most intrigued by his list of activities designed to help you stretch that sense in your own mind. Unfortunately, the stories and arguments Pink uses become repetitive after awhile, especially if you're reading several chapters in one sitting. Still, his ideas provide excellent food for thought, and I've added a few more books to read as a result.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
by N.K. Jemisin
New York : Orbit, 2010.
Yeine is a daughter of an heiress who abdicated and a man from a backwater tribe in the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. When her maternal grandfather invites her to Sky - the city and the palace - Yeine knows she cannot say no to someone with so much power, even if she wanted to. And while she doesn't know what her grandfather wants, she has a purpose of her own: to find out why her mother died.
It's hard to do justice to a story as complicated as The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms without giving away major plot points, so suffice it to say that the above merely scratches the surface of the plot. This is a debut and the first in a fantasy series with incredibly complex world-building, political intrigue, and its own system of religions. In this world, the Arameri are all-powerful and even the gods serve them. Yeine narrates her story as she navigates this new world, her sense of morality, and her determination over whether she will ever truly be an Arameri. She could be just a pawn, but her character is too fleshed out for that. The gods, too, have incredible character development, seeming at once human and otherworldly. While I often wrinkled my nose at the amorality (and, yes, immorality) of Sky and its people, I am intrigued enough to continue reading the series when The Broken Kingdoms is available.
New York : Orbit, 2010.
Yeine is a daughter of an heiress who abdicated and a man from a backwater tribe in the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. When her maternal grandfather invites her to Sky - the city and the palace - Yeine knows she cannot say no to someone with so much power, even if she wanted to. And while she doesn't know what her grandfather wants, she has a purpose of her own: to find out why her mother died.
It's hard to do justice to a story as complicated as The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms without giving away major plot points, so suffice it to say that the above merely scratches the surface of the plot. This is a debut and the first in a fantasy series with incredibly complex world-building, political intrigue, and its own system of religions. In this world, the Arameri are all-powerful and even the gods serve them. Yeine narrates her story as she navigates this new world, her sense of morality, and her determination over whether she will ever truly be an Arameri. She could be just a pawn, but her character is too fleshed out for that. The gods, too, have incredible character development, seeming at once human and otherworldly. While I often wrinkled my nose at the amorality (and, yes, immorality) of Sky and its people, I am intrigued enough to continue reading the series when The Broken Kingdoms is available.
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